Daily Lives of Little Busters
by Rin Natsume
Summary: A collection of one-shot fics focusing on the day to day lives of the Little Busters.
1. Lost

"Didn't we see that tree ten minutes ago?"

"Fue? Are you sure? They all look the same to me."

Rin nodded. "It's got those funny crooked branches."

"But, are you sure it's not just another tree with funny crooked branches?"

"Hmm." Rin gazed at the tree pensively, then shook her head. "Ugh, I don't know. Why are there so many trees? I'm so sick of trees."

"I know what we could do!" Kud held up a finger. "Let's find something to tie around the branch and mark the tree, then we'll know if we see it again." She cast her eyes around and spotted a plastic bag. "Aha!"

"That's a good idea," said Komari. "That way we'll know for sure."

Ten minutes later, they found themselves looking at the same tree with the plastic bag. There was no doubt about the dire situation they had found themselves in.

"We're just going in circles." Kud seemed distressed. "Are we lost?"

"Don't worry!" Komari forced a big smile. "We'll just take a different path next." She started off and then stopped. "Er, does anybody remember which way we went last time?"

"We went right," Rin said in a decisive tone. "I think."

"Are you sure?" Kud asked.

"Um. It could have been left." Rin's face fell. "Maybe. I'm not sure. Sorry."

"Aaaaaah!" Komari's knees hit the ground and she clutched her head. "We're lost!"

"We're lost?!" Kud's eyes widened in alarm. "What are we going to do? Are we going to have to build campfires and hunt for meat? Will it be like in that book, uh, what was it called? Road of the Flies?"

"I think you mean Lord of the Flies. Hyaaau, isn't that the book where people ate each other?"

"Th-they did?" Kud's mouth gaped open. She pressed her fingers together. "Oh dear. I really don't want to be eaten, but if we end up starving then..." After contemplating it, she nodded. "I do not mind being the first sacrifice! If it's for my friends, I will gladly offer up my body."

"No, no, I don't want to eat you, Kuu-chan!"

Rin quietly listened to the entire conversation with a look of disbelief. She took out her cellphone and checked the display. There was still no signal. "That idiot brother. What was he thinking sending us on a mission in a place like this?"

"It's all my fault." Kud dropped to the ground. "If I hadn't let go of that map, it wouldn't have blown away."

"Ehh? No, no, that was my fault," Komari protested. "You let go of it because I screamed and startled you. So, that means I should be the one who is eaten first." She clenched her fists with a determined look on her face.

"I wish Riki was here," Rin muttered. Komari and Kud seemed to have completely lost their wits. If Riki was present, he would surely have some retort at the ready to quell their panic. It looked like it was going to have to be up to her to calm them down. "It's alright. We don't have to eat each other."

Komari and Kud regarded her with confused looks.

"Fue? We don't?"

"Really?"

"Yeah." Rin gestured at the backpack she was carrying. It was stuffed full of snacks and cakes that Komari had provided. "We have food."

"Aaaahhh! That's right!" Komari ran over and wrapped her arms around Rin. Rin's face turned red. "I totally forgot. Thank you, Rin-chan, you're a lifesaver."

"Wafu!" Kud bounced over to hug her as well. "Rin-san is awesome."

"Hey, it's not like I did anything amazing," Rin protested, her cheeks flushing even more.

"Well then, let's eat some yummy cake." Komari took the backpack and started humming as she rummaged in it. "Sweet things always cheer me up."

The three of them sat down and helped themselves to cake. They devoured it in no time at all. It turned out that walking through the woods had really given them an appetite.

"Hmm."

"Huh? What is it, Kuu-chan?"

"Well, the cake was nice, but we're still lost."

"Oh, yeah." Komari's smile faded away and she sighed. "What are we going to do? It's so scary, being lost in the woods. Rin-chan, are you scared?"

A chime rang out as Rin shook her head. "No. I know everyone else is going to find us eventually so there's no need to worry."

"Whoah. Rin-san is so confident, I can't help but believe her words."

"Well then, if Rin-chan's not scared, then I'm not scared either. Alright!" Komari nodded, a smile forming on her face. "So, what should we do now? Should we look for them?"

"But walking is so tiring." Kud sighed. "We're just going in circles too."

"Why don't we just wait here?" Rin suggested. "They are bound to come across us eventually."

"Right, we'll do that," said Komari. "Hmm." After thinking for a bit, she spoke again. "Then, let's pass the time by telling stories. I'll start. There was a bear who lived in a forest..."

A short while later, they heard voices calling out their names. The girls called back and the other members of the Little Busters soon appeared.

"There you are!" Riki exclaimed. "We were wondering what had happened to you. Are you alright?"

"We lost the map and then we became lost," said Komari. "Then we were walking around in circles so we had to give up and eat cake instead."

"I was so scared," said Kud. "Being lost is super scary. Wah?!"

"It's alright now, Kudryavka-kun." Kurugaya had darted over to wrap her arms around Kud's small body. She rubbed her head in a reassuring manner. "There's no need to be scared now that Onee-san is here."

"So that's what happened. Sounds like you had quite some excitement," Kyousuke said.

"Don't send us out on such dangerous missions!" Rin berated him with a look of sheer indignance. "Thanks to you, Komari-chan and Kud were going to eat each other!"

A sudden silence fell over them all. Several pairs of eyes slowly looked toward Komari and Kud.

"These two?" Masato looked doubtful. "Seriously?"

"What were they doing, having a fight to the death?" Kengo asked. "I can't see that happening."

"Eh, for real?" Haruka cringed. "Why would you do that?"

"Cannibalism is a crime," Mio said. "Please don't eat each other."

"Ueeeeehn, it wasn't like that!" Komari's shrill voice rang out. Her face crumpled. "I wouldn't ever eat anybody!"

"Me neither," Kud said. "I'd never do such a terrible thing."

"Rin, are you sure you didn't just get the wrong idea?" Riki asked.

"Well, they were worried about starving and having to eat each other. They were really freaking out so I had to remind them we had food." Rin placed her hands on her hips and beamed. "I saved their lives."

"No, I'm pretty sure their lives weren't in danger to begin with."

Kyousuke cleared his throat, smiling with an air of nervousness. "Well, now that we're all together again, shall we get going?"


	2. Dagger

It was private study time and everyone was expected to quietly study at their desks. Most people were at least. His neighbour, on the other hand, was fast asleep as usual.

"Honestly, Masato, you've got to study sometime," Riki muttered. His gaze wandered over the rest of the classroom and settled on Kud, who appeared to be reciting from a book. Mio had brought her chair over and was listening attentively. It was an unusual scene in the classroom so naturally his curiosity was provoked. Snatches of dialogue reached his ear as he walked over.

"Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand. Come, let me clutch... the?"

"That's 'thee'," Mio said. "It means 'you', by the way."

"Oh, really?" Kud tilted her head, her brow furrowing. "There are a lot of words in here that I don't know."

"What are you reading, Kud?"

"Huh? Oh, Riki. Nishizono-san's helping me out with my English. I'm reading lines from, um, what was it called?" Kud paused to check the cover. "Maku... vest?"

"You mean Macbeth, don't you?"

Kud's face promptly turned crimson. "Wafu?! I mispronounced the name of the main character. Even though I already heard it a few times. I'm so terrible at this." A dark cloud seemed to fall over her as she crouched over her desk and pressed her head to the wood. She started gently hitting her forehead against the surface. "I'm so confused because of all these difficult words and it's making my head spin."

"Don't worry about it, Noumi-san. Would you like me to read the passage for you?"

"O-okay... this Shakefear guy's writing is really hard to read."

Riki decided against correcting Kud this time. He did however wonder what on earth Mio was thinking, having Kud read Shakespeare of all things.

"Well then." Mio took the book and started to recite the words. "Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?" Her voice grew ominous. "Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation-"

"Uwaaaaahn!" Komari's wail floated over. "Mio-chan is scaryyy!"

"Uuu." Kud crouched over in her seat, her small body shaking. "It's too scary, I want to read something else. No wonder he's called Shakefear."

"Oh? Is this not to your taste?" Mio shut the book, regarding her with a quizzical expression. "Well, it's understandable that it wouldn't be to your liking-"

"If you know that already, don't make me read it!"

"But, you see, it only gets worse after this." Mio's voice lowered and a shadow fell over her face. "He ends up murdering the king in his sleep. His wife helps with covering up the crime too."

Kud let out a yelp. Another wail was heard from Komari. Riki glanced over to see her covering her ears. It looked like she was pretty close to tears too.

"No matter how much the wife washes her hands, she can still see the blood on them, and it drives her to insanity, and finally, suicide."

"Nishizono-san." Riki wondered if Mio was aware of how much she was traumatising the girls. If she was doing it on purpose, that sure was awfully sadistic of her. "I think that's enough now."

"Hey, cut it out, you're upsetting Komari-chan!"

Rin's shout went unheeded by Mio, who carried on speaking.

"He commits murder after murder, even of his own best friend, until he gets defeated by a man not born of a woman." Mio's lips curved up into a smile and she raised her head. "Ahh, MPreg."

Kud was doing the same thing as Komari now, and didn't seem to hear her last comment.

Riki raised an eyebrow. "MPreg?"

"Well, actually, he was born by caesarean, but I find it fun to interpret the phrase in different ways. Anyway, the matter of how he was born doesn't change the fact he was still carried by a woman in the womb. I find the claim of not being born by a woman a bit odd."

"I see what you mean. Anyway, I think you need to take your audience into consideration when you're reading things. Why Shakespeare? That's surely too difficult for Kud."

"Yes, it is. In fact, it's not uncommon for native English speakers to hate it, and even call it gibberish. That's not surprising really, considering it's an antiquated form of English."

"Whaaaa?" Kud clutched at her head. "That's way, way, way too difficult for me!"

"Sorry, I thought I'd test you a bit but it seems it was too much." Mio took another book from the bag sitting by her chair. "How about Goldilock and the Three Bears?"

"Ah?" Komari had been whimpering with her head in her arms until now but the mention of that particular fairy tale seemed to have piqued her interest. "I know that story! I want to hear it!" She scampered over with a delighted expression.

"Now it's a children's fairytale?" Riki wondered why Mio even had a book like that on her in the first place. "Well, do your best, Kud." With those words, he left them to it and returned to his desk.


	3. Hair

"Let me go, you jerk!" Rin's shrill scream rang out across the field. She wriggled in the tight grasp around her waist.

"Haha, you are so adorable." Kurugaya rubbed her cheek against Rin's, completely undeterred by the flailing limbs of her captured prey.

"Yep, you look really cute, Rin-chan~" Komari nodded happily.

"Uuuhhh." Rin's struggles were slowing as she once again realised the futility of trying to fight against Kurugaya's hold. Her face had turned the same colour as a tomato. "Stop it, it's embarrassing."

"What are you all up to?" Riki approached the group and immediately saw the reason for Kurugaya's behaviour. Rin's ponytail had been replaced by twin tails. Her hair was being held up by two large kitten heads. Rin with twin tails was a rare sight indeed. No wonder Kurugaya had pounced on her.

"I brought some hair decorations," Komari explained. She produced a jumble of assorted hair bands and held them out for him to see. "I thought I'd show the others and we'd try them out."

"Hmm, how do I look?" Kud had tied a section of hair up with a large pink scrunchie. The ponytail sprouted from the side of her head.

"Very nice, Kuu-chan."

"Why don't we try them out on Riki-kun?" Kurugaya looked at him with gleaming eyes.

Riki sensed the oncoming danger and started backing away, holding up his hands. "I'd better get back to practice. We've got another game coming up soon after all."

It was a futile protest. Kurugaya released Rin and in the next moment she had Riki's arms pinned behind his back.

"Umu, it's so cute how you think you have a choice."

Riki contemplated calling out to the other boys for help but he doubted it would do any good. Kyousuke would definitely let the girls do what they wanted just so he could enjoy seeing the results for himself. He heaved a sigh and resigned himself to what was to come.

"Alright, I get it."

"Good boy. As a reward, I'll hug you and you can think to yourself 'Hell yeah, I can feel Kurugaya's boobs rubbing up against my back. This is so awesome!' while having a massive nosebleed. How about it?" Kurugaya wrapped her arms around Riki's chest.

"I keep telling you, I'm not a pervert!"

"Hmm, what to try on Riki-kun?" Komari looked at the pile of hair decorations.

"Oh, oh, can I choose?" Haruka leaned in to see what there was. "Ooh, how about these?" She plucked out a couple of bands with large pink bows attached.

"You just had to pick some feminine ones, didn't you?" Riki sighed.

"Yahaha." Haruka grinned from ear to ear as she approached him. She deftly tied the bands around two sections of hair on either side of his head. "Aah, cute. It really suits you, Riki-kun."

"So cute~" Komari had a wide smile on her face.

"I am feeling so humiliated right now." Riki heard a clicking sound and jerked his head up. He really should have known this would happen. "Nishizono-san, why are you taking pictures?!"

Mio regarded him with a light blush. She raised the camera and took another picture.

"Stop iiit!"

"You look even girlier than usual now, Riki," Rin commented.

"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take that comment."

"Hmm, what else could we try? Oh, these are some nice hairclips." Haruka was still at it, rummaging through Komari's pile of hair accessories. "Ahahaha, we're gonna try all sorts of things on Riki-kun. Hmm." A troubled expression formed on her face.

"What is it, Haru-chan?"

"I wish I'd brought my makeup kit."

"No way I'm letting you put makeup on me!"

"Oh well, this is good enough." Haruka removed the bows and added the clips.

It went on like this for a while with Mio constantly taking pictures despite Riki's protests. Eventually, they decided they'd had enough fun with him and allowed him to get back to practice.

Five minutes into the practice, Kyousuke was checking his cellphone. Riki got that sinking feeling. Of course, he should have known this would happen.

"Uwah, don't look!" It was a futile protest.

Kyousuke thumbed his way through the pictures with a grin. "Alright, even more for my collection."

"Collection?" Riki was afraid to ask exactly what that collection was called.

"At this rate I'll be able to start a blog. I'll call it 'Cute Pictures of Riki'."

"Don't you dare!"

"Haha, but I really like these pictures. There's nothing wrong with being cute."

It was useless to protest. Riki just ducked his head, hiding his burning face.


	4. Brown

"Wow, Rin, you got quite a lot of chocolates." Riki looked at the brightly decorated boxes piling up on Rin's desk. He had noticed quite a few boys who weren't even in their class come wandering into the classroom today. Apparently, some of them had Rin set in their sights which wasn't a surprise, considering the popularity she had gained among the boys.

"I don't get it." Rin frowned. "Boys I don't even know have been coming up to me and dropping these on my desk all day. It's weird. Why are they giving me these?"

"Eh, Rin-chan, you mean you don't know?" Komari looked surprised. "It's because today is White Day. You remember that last month was Valentine's Day, right? On that day, girls give chocolates to boys. Then, the following month, on White Day, boys give chocolates to girls."

"Ohhh... right. I think I remember hearing something like that before." Rin slowly nodded. "But why do they do it?"

"Wow, you really don't get it at all, do you?" Kurugaya sidled over, regarding her with a raised eyebrow. "When someone gives another person chocolates, it's meant to be the expression of their desire."

"Right, right." Rin nodded again. "So it's like the stuff I've read in Kyousuke's manga. I get it."

"Rin, I don't think you're supposed to be learning about this kind of thing from Kyousuke's manga."

"Why not? It's very informational."

Riki had no idea how Rin could consider manga for children to be informational in any way, but decided not to comment.

"Wow, Rin-san got so many. I've never received any before." Kud dropped her head. "I wonder why. Is it because I'm too small?" She placed her hands over her chest and sighed.

"Don't worry, Kudryavka-kun. Even Onee-san doesn't get very many chocolates on White Day."

"For real?!" Kud gaped at her. "Even you, Kurugaya-san? But you're so cool and amazing and beautiful! I can't believe you're not getting very many. Surely that's impossible."

"Hardly. I never used to be that sociable so the boys rarely ever took to me." Kurugaya looked sad for a moment. "Looks aren't everything, you see. I imagine Rin-kun is popular not just because she's cute, but also because of her noisy and violent attitude. It gets her quite a lot of attention."

"Does it?" Rin's eyes widened. "Hmm, I guess I'd better keep it down. It's creepy when guys come up to me like that."

"So you've never received chocolates before?" Riki tried to remember if Rin had ever brought it up on previous White Days, but he couldn't think of anything in particular. Maybe she just hadn't seen the need to bring it up in the past.

"Hmm, I wonder." Rin tilted her head. "Actually, I think I might have had boys give me chocolates. I can't remember that well."

Riki wondered if she was forgetting on purpose. Attention was never something Rin had particularly wanted in the past, being as shy as she was.

"You think?" Kurugaya sighed and shook her head. "I feel sorry for those boys."

"I didn't get chocolates either." Komari sighed. She was still looking enviously at the boxes. "Chocolate is yummy."

"Then, Komari-chan, you have one." Rin grabbed a box off the desk and held it out to her. "I don't think I could possibly eat them all anyway."

"Fueeee?!" Komari's face turned a bright scarlet shade. "F-for me?! But, but, these were chocolates given to you in the name of love! Is it really okay for me to have one?"

"Yeah." Rin nodded, smiling. "You can have it, Komari-chan."

"Komari-san, you should realise that Rin doesn't really understand the deep meaning behind these chocolates before getting flustered over it."

"O-oh... yeah... okay..." Komari took the box of chocolates, still blushing. "Thank you, Rin-chan."

"Kud, you can have one as well." Rin held out another box.

"Wow, thank you very much, Rin-san." Kud took the box, smiling in delight.

Komari had already opened her box and popped one of the sweet brown treats into her mouth. "Mmm. Delicious!"

"You're not supposed to be eating in the classroom," Riki said, smiling in bemusement.

"Kurugaya, you want one too?"

"I'll pass, thank you. I'm sure there's someone else you can give a box to. How about Miss Nishizono?"

"Mio?" Rin looked over at Mio, who seemed to be busy writing notes at her desk. She nodded and headed over with a box. "Mio, did you get any chocolate for White Day?"

"No, I didn't." Mio looked up. "Actually, I've never really got chocolates for White Day before."

"Then you can have this."

"Rin-kun is ever so generous, isn't she?" Kurugaya watched them with a soft smile.

"Yeah." Riki nodded. Rin had come a long way since this time last year. It was so heartening to see her handing out gifts to her friends without a second thought.

"Yahaha, good afternoon!" Haruka breezed into the classroom. "What's up?"

"Oh, there you are." Rin came back. "Haruka, did you get chocolates?"

"Chocolates?" Haruka tilted her head.

"Yeah, you know, for White Day," Riki said.

"Oh... not really." Haruka smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm so noisy, the boys probably don't want to give chocolates to an annoying girl like me."

"Goodness, it looks like Rin-kun was the only one to get chocolates, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Riki was starting to feel bad now. He was thinking he ought to have rallied the other boys together and made chocolates for the girls, at least so they weren't ignored, but it was a bit late for that now. Next year, he swore, they would definitely do something.

"Haruka, you can have some." Rin offered her a box.

"Huh? Rin-chan, you're actually giving me chocolate?" Haruka's cheeks flushed. "Oh my god, Rin-chan is giving me chocolate. You're so sweet!" She flung her arms around Rin.

"Hey, get off!" Rin grumbled in her embrace. "It's only because creepy guys keep giving me chocolate, that's all." When Haruka let go, she thrust a box at her.

"Thank you, thank you." Haruka beamed.

"So you've got two boxes left now, huh." Riki glanced at the desk.

"Yeah. Here, you can share it with the idiots," Rin said, handing a box to Riki.

"Uh, thanks."

"And that's all. I guess I can manage the last one." Rin glanced at Kurugaya. "You sure you don't want to share?"

"Hm, you're really eager to include me in this, aren't you? Fine, I don't mind sharing."

"Great." Rin nodded with a smile of satisfaction. "Now everyone has got chocolates. I did a good thing, didn't I, Riki?"

"Yes, you did. Well done, Rin."


	5. Destruction

The earth shattering boom that came over the speaker was enough to send most of the class scrambling underneath their desks, screaming in terror. Riki was startled by the noise but grasped the situation quickly enough that he didn't panic. The sight of so many people leaping under their desks was certainly baffling. Had they all really thought that was an explosion just now?

"Riki!" Masato leaped out of his chair and lunged at Riki. He pushed Riki out of the chair and they fell to the floor together. Masato stayed hunched over Riki, covering his body with his own.

Riki turned his head to see Masato's tense expression as he seemingly waited for something else to happen. "Masato, it was just some noise coming over the speaker."

"What? I really thought that was an explosion just now. My muscles moved all on their own. All I could think was 'Protect Riki!' and I did. Aren't you glad to have me around as your bodyguard?"

"I don't remember ever asking for a bodyguard, and I don't think I'll ever need one." Riki could hear some commotion from the corridor. He guessed the noise had been heard in other classrooms as well. "Whatever was that noise though? I hope it wasn't a real explosion. Um, you can get off me now."

Now that he could move again, Riki got up and took a look around the classroom. Several people were still crouched underneath their desks. Kurugaya and Kengo were both seated in their chairs, calmly looking ahead.

"As expected of them," Riki commented. He could still hear running footsteps and shouts outside. Whatever the noise was, it had caused quite some chaos. He peered out the window to check but nothing looked out of the ordinary which suggested it hadn't been a real explosion after all. What a relief that was.

"Noooooo!" Komari was crying. "I don't want to diiiie!"

Riki was about to go to her, then heard Kud crying out as well.

"Scary!" Kud was curled up in a trembling ball. "It went boom!"

Kurugaya got up and went over to crawl under Kud's desk. "There, there," she said in a soothing tone, putting her arms around the smaller girl. "I'm here now. You can rest your head on Onee-san's bosom."

"Komari-san, it's alright." Riki went over to Komari's desk. "It was just the speaker."

"Huh?" Komari removed her hands from her head and peered up at him. "That was a really loud boom. Did something blow up?"

"I don't think so. I couldn't imagine such destruction taking place in this school anyway." Riki looked over at Rin's desk. She too was huddled under the desk. "Rin, you can come out now. Nothing blew up."

"Really?" Rin was slow to emerge from the desk, looking nervously around as she did so. "Then, what was it?"

"I was so scared." Komari came out as well. "Why did it do that?"

"I have no idea." Riki turned his gaze toward the speaker. He guessed this had to be a prank of some kind. As for who the culprit was, he could make a good guess.

"Good afternoon!" Haruka bounded into the classroom, all smiles. "How is everyone on this fine day?"

"Haruka-san, did you have something to do with this?"

"Eeeeh?!" Haruka looked astonished. "What is this? Riki-kun just suspected me of some wrongdoing right away! I'm so hurt. You really think I would do something like sneaking into the principal's office and planting a cassette player by the microphone?"

"Er, I never said anything like that."

"Oh, yeah. Right." Haruka laughed. "But, you know, it sounded totally convincing, didn't it? It was like, BOOM! And people were like HIT THE DECKS! It was almost like a scene in an action movie."

"Don't scare us like that, moron!" Rin yelled.

"So it really was you, Saigusa." Masato glowered at her. "Thanks to you, I got all worked up over nothing. On the other hand, I did get to look pretty cool."

"What an idiot," Rin muttered, throwing him a dry look.

"Haruka-san, you really shouldn't have done something like that," said Riki.

"Whaaa, what's with this harsh treatment? You guys have no sense of humor sometimes."

"Haru-chan, it's not very nice to go scaring people like that."

"Whoah, I even got told off by Komari-chan?" Haruka's face fell. "How shameful. To think that Haruchin has sunk to such low depths. It's simply unbearable."

"You should apologize to everyone," said Riki. "Even a harmless prank can hurt people."

"Uuu..." Haruka hung her head. "Okay."

"Saigusa Haruka!" A pair of prefects marched into the classroom. "Rigging up a tape to play an explosion over the school broadcast was your doing, wasn't it?"

"Eh? How can you just accuse me without any proof?"

"There's a part on the tape where we clearly hear you introducing a song, and announcing your name!"

"Uwaaaah." Haruka's eyes widened in shock. "I used the wrong tape!" She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "Yahaha, I guess you heard me singing. What did you think? Was it good?"

"We can discuss this in the disciplinary committee meeting room. Now come with us."

"Man, I messed up big time." Haruka's shoulders slumped. "Can I have the tape back when you're done? I really liked that song."

"That girl is really shameless as always," Masato grumbled, as they watched the prefects drag her away. "Honestly, that Saigusa. Whatever was she thinking?"

"Haruka-san really is something." Riki smiled in bemusement. "Causing chaos in the whole school. Whatever was she thinking?" Just how brazen could Haruka even get? It seemed she would stop at nothing.

"She's way too noisy," said Rin. "What a fuss she caused."

"Haru-chan may be noisy, but she's a good girl at heart. It's always exciting when she's around. I never really know what she's going to do next. It really feels like she's part of this class."

"Yeah, I think so too." Riki smiled as he looked in the direction of the door.


	6. Rose

It was Riki's birthday today and preparations for the celebration were well under way. Most of the Little Busters were already together in the cafeteria, getting everything ready, and while Riki was looking forward to it, there were two matters currently on his mind. The first one being Kyousuke's absence. Just where had he got to? His phone was turned off and nobody had seen him since this morning. Riki couldn't believe Kyousuke would actually miss an important day like this and yet he was nowhere to be seen.

Secondly, just what was up with that gigantic cake taking up half the cafeteria that nobody had a clue about? It was probably part of some plan of Kyousuke's but that didn't explain his absence. Riki couldn't understand it at all. A giant cake wasn't going to make up for Kyousuke missing out on his birthday party. While staring at the cake, he sighed.

"Cheer up, Riki." Masato clapped a hand on his shoulder. "It's your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but Kyousuke still isn't here and his phone's turned off. Where could he have got to?"

"Hmm. Hey, I know, why don't you try touching my muscles? I'm sure it will make you feel better." Masato started flexing his arms. "Go right ahead."

"Er, thanks for the offer, but I'll pass."

"Riki, are you still worrying?" Rin came over and peered at Riki's face. "Look, I'm sure that idiot brother's just got some big entrance planned and he's going to wait until the last minute to surprise us."

"Really?" Komari said. "Hmm, I wonder what he's planning."

"It's probably going to be something really cool. Wafu! I can't wait to see it!"

"I wonder." Haruka tapped her chin. "Oh, I know, maybe he's going to come zooming in on a motorcycle!"

"Impossible," Mio replied. "That would be an unbelievably stupid thing to do, even for Kyousuke-san."

"Wha... well... then... I know, he'll come over the cafeteria in a helicopter and come shimmying down on a rope like in action movies!" Haruka struck a dramatic pose.

Riki put a palm on his forehead. "He wouldn't even be able to afford a helicopter, let alone a motorbike."

"Muu." Haruka exhaled in frustration. "So it's got to be crazy, but affordable. Let's see. Maybe he's going to do a magic trick then. He'll suddenly appear in a puff of smoke!"

"You've got that trick the wrong way round, Haruka-san." Just where did she get this absurd ideas from, Riki wondered.

"May I direct your attention to that glaring clue sitting over there?" Kurugaya interrupted. "Look at that cake. It's plainly obvious that Mr. Kyousuke has got something to do with it. Actually, I'm pretty sure I know where he is right now."

"So you figured it out, huh?" asked Riki. It figured that Kurugaya would be the one smart enough to guess what Kyousuke was up to this time. "So, where is he then?"

"Umu, sorry, but I think it would be wrong of me to ruin the surprise. If you think about it, it's really not that hard to figure out. Why would we need a ridiculously large, fake cake?"

Riki looked at the cake again. A bizarre thought occurred to him. No, surely not, he thought, the idea he'd just had was too absurd. But then again this was Kyousuke they were talking about so it just might be possible.

"He's hiding, huh?" Kengo frowned. "Shouldn't he be helping us get ready for the party?"

"Quite." Kurugaya walked over to the cake and spoke in a loud voice. "What a lazy good for nothing that Mr. Kyousuke is." She looked at the cake for a short moment. "Guess that would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"Wait a minute, Yui-chan."

"No, don't call me Yui-chan."

"Did you just say the cake is fake?"

"Eh?" Everyone turned to look at Komari with astonished faces.

"Komari-chan, you thought the cake was real?" Rin asked.

"Hey, hold on a minute," Masato said. "I just realized something incredible."

"Eh?" Riki glanced at him.

"Cake and fake... don't they rhyme?! Whoah, what a revelation I just had. I wonder if there's some kind of deep meaning to it."

Riki chose not to comment and turned his attention back to the others.

"Ueeeeeehn, so the cake was a lie!" Komari wailed.

"You know, there's plenty of real cake for us to eat," Kengo pointed out.

"Yeah, but I've never seen such a huge cake before. It's so big and so delicious looking, and I really, really wanted to eat it. Doesn't cake look even more delicious the bigger it is? Sometimes, I dream I'm eating cake the size of the Eiffel Tower."

"Komari-san, if you keep looking, maybe you'll find that really big cake one day and then we can all eat it together," Kud said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah." Komari nodded, a determined expression forming on her face. "I'm going to keep looking for the biggest cake in the world. I'm sure I'll definitely find it one day. All right!"

Eventually, everyone was done with the preparations. Food and drinks had been placed out and decorations put in place. They all gathered around the table. Komari was concerned about starting without Kyousuke present but Kurugaya assured her it would be fine to just go ahead.

"We're all set!" Komari announced. "It's a pity that Kyousuke-san isn't here yet but we can't wait all day for him, so-"

Komari was cut off by the tune to Happy Birthday blasting out of the cake.

"Oh, no way." Riki turned to look at the cake with a chagrined expression. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I knew it." Rin crossed her arms, shooting the cake a dry look. "He's being an idiot as usual."

"He's been sitting in there the whole time like I thought," said Kurugaya. "The things he does never cease to amaze me."

The cake slowly opened to reveal Kyousuke twirling around with a rose in his mouth. A banner hung loosely around his body. It was adorned with the words 'Happy Birthday, Riki'.

Riki buried his burning face in his hands. Right now, he wanted nothing more than the floor to open up and swallow him. He heard a camera clicking and peered through his fingers, seeing Mio holding her camera up. "Wait, why are you taking pictures?!"

"This is a moment that should be forever preserved."

Riki didn't want it to be preserved in the least but he could hardly do anything about it now.

Kyousuke jumped out of the cake and strolled over. With a dramatic flourish, he presented the rose to Riki. "Happy birthday. This is for you."

"Uh..." Riki took the rose, staring at Kyousuke with his jaw hanging slack. He still couldn't find the words to describe how he felt.

"I surprised you, didn't I?" Kyousuke grinned. "I wanted to do something elaborate and totally unexpected for your birthday. How was that?"

"I... I..." Riki looked down at the rose. "Well... that was definitely unexpected. Did you get that from some weird manga?"

"It wasn't manga this time."

"You were sitting in that cake the whole time while we were busy getting ready for the party?" Komari asked.

"Yes, of course. Haha, I really pulled off something cool, didn't I?"

"You." Rin stepped forward and thrust a finger in Kyousuke's face. "You're doing the dishes afterwards."

"Whaaa?"

"All those in favor, say aye." Rin crossed her arms and turned around to face the others.

"Aye!" Resounding agreements came from the crowd.

"Wow, what's with this harsh treatment all of a sudden? I just wanted to do something totally awesome for Riki's birthday and for some reason, I'm being treated like the bad guy?"

Riki saw the wounded look on Kyousuke's face and decided it would be a good idea to say something to cheer him up. "Well, it's nice that you went to so much trouble to surprise me for my birthday. So, thanks."

"Alright, now that's what I want to hear." Kyousuke's smile returned. "Now let's get this party started for real!"

Riki looked down at the rose with a bemused smile. Kyousuke really was an amazing person, as always, he thought.


	7. Truth

Rin knocked on the door and waited. A moment later, the door opened, revealing the absolute last girl Rin had been expecting to see.

Rin gasped, automatically taking a step back at the sight of her rival. "Zazagawa Zazami!"

Sasami had frozen in place with a look of horror on her face. The secret she had been trying so hard to keep had now been exposed and she couldn't think of what to say. Hearing her name be mispronounced however quickly snapped her out of her funk.

"It's SA-SA-SE-GA-WA SA-SA-MI! Natsume Rin, you continue to keep mocking me like this?"

"Sorry, I got the wrong room." Rin glanced at the door to check the number. "Huh, that's weird. It says 131 on the door." She peered past Sasami. "That's Komari-chan's stuffed penguin over there too."

"Ah. That's... well... are you looking for Kamikita-san?" Sasami was hastily racking her brains, trying to think of an excuse that wouldn't reveal her secret.

"This is Komari-chan's room, right?"

Sasami couldn't, in good conscience, bring herself to lie about it especially considering the confusion it might cause next time Komari invited Rin over. "Yes. It is."

"Then, what are you doing in her room?"

Sasami released a laugh out of sheer desperation, holding her hand up to her mouth. "Oh ho ho ho! Natsume Rin... so you have caught me! To think my own rival would catch me in the act! What a blunder!"

"Eh?" Rin tilted her head.

"That's right! I was... in search of Kamikita-san's sweets! I ventured into her room when she was out-"

"Oh, Rin-chan. Did you come to see me?"

Sasami's voice cut off and her gaze fell on Komari. Her face changed to a look of horror yet again.

"Komari-chan!" Rin turned around. "There's somebody in your room." She pointed at Sasami.

"Why, yes." Sasami smirked, placing her hands on her hips. "Didn't expect to see me here, did you? It seems I was caught in the act. Such a foolish blunder indeed. What a pity." She threw her head back and laughed.

"Uh?" Komari shot her a look of puzzlement.

"She was going to steal your sweets." Rin assumed a fighting stance. "Sasasegawa Sasami. I shall punish you right here, right now for your heinous act. I cannot forgive someone who would do such a terrible thing to Komari-chan."

"Bring it on." Sasami did the same. "Today shall be the day I defeat you once and for all, Natsume Rin!"

"Saa-chan, I think we should just tell her."

"Eh, tell me what?"

"Come on in." Komari took Rin's hand and pulled her into the room. "It's okay, Saa-chan was just-"

"Kamikita-san! I really don't think-"

"Huh, that wasn't here before." Rin's attention had been caught by a board hanging on the wall. "Hey, why are there pictures of Kengo on it with hearts drawn on them?"

Sasami's face turned pale.

"Um, that's..." Komari looked between Sasami and Rin, fumbling for an explanation. She was hesitant to say anything if Sasami really didn't want her to.

"Komari-chan, are you in love with Kengo?"

"Fueeeeeeeeee?!" Komari's eyes turned wide. "Wha-wha-what are you saying? I'm not in love with Kengo-kun!"

Since the situation was clearly getting out of control, Sasami could see no choice but to intervene. "That's mine."

"Eh?" Rin looked at her, completely nonplussed. "Why would your stuff be in Komari-chan's room?"

"That's because..." Sasami paused, looking down at her feet and fidgeting. "We're roommates."

"Room... mates?" Rin slowly looked toward Komari, who nodded.

"Yup. Saa-chan and I are roommates."

"Whaaaaaaa?!"

"Sorry about not telling you sooner, but Saa-chan was trying to keep it a secret. She would hide all the evidence whenever I invited you over but this time you came over unannounced and caught her."

"So, there you go." Sasami was still averting her gaze. "Are you satisfied now, Natsume Rin? You have exposed my greatest secret."

Rin stared at Sasami with a complicated expression, deliberating over her words. Then she walked up to her.

"Eh, what is it?"

Rin bent over in a bow. "Thank you for taking care of Komari-chan."

"E-eh..." Sasami was completely taken aback. "What is the meaning of this... are you mocking me?" She backed away, her face flushing. "Natsume Rin. You had better remember this!" She turned and ran out of the room.

"Komari-chan and Zazazegawa Zazami are roommates. Yes, I will remember it." Rin nodded. "She sure wants me to remember a lot of things, doesn't she?"

"Well, that's just how Saa-chan is," Komari said, with a bemused smile. "I hope you two can become good friends one day. So, you're not bothered by us being roommates?"

"It was a really shocking plot twist. I was profoundly shocked. But, I don't really mind."

"Oh, good. I'm not really sure why Saa-chan was so desperate to keep it a secret. She's the kind of person who has trouble being honest with others and she may seem rough on the outside, but really she's a kind and caring person. Please don't tell her I said that though, I'm sure she'd get mad at me."

"Okay. I wouldn't mind being friends with her, but she's so difficult. She always gets mad at me and tells me to remember stuff and her name is so hard to remember. It's a terrible trouble." Rin expelled a puff of breath, blowing her bangs up. "But if it's for Komari-chan, I'll try my best."

"Great." Komari smiled wider. "I hope you succeed, Rin-chan."


End file.
